The Crucible: Joh John Proctor As A Tragic Hero

A tragic hero is a very favored person that suffers from a downfall which leads to their death. John Proctor, like many others, is a tragic hero. The author, Arthur Miller, gives John Proctor the role of a tragic hero throughout the story of The Crucible. This protagonist, John Proctor, made judgement errors that inevitably led to his own destruction. John Proctor is an afflicted individual. He believes his affair with Abigail irreparably damaged him in the eyes of God, his wife Elizabeth, and himself. John Proctor succumbed to sin and committed the crime of adultery; however, he lacks the capacity to forgive himself. When referencing criticism, John Proctor and the Crucible of Individuation in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Michelle I Pearson, who also agrees John Proctor is a tragic hero, once said in her article that “While the people of Salem look at Proctor and see a strong, hard-working, no-nonsense man, Proctor himself knows that he is an adulterer, a lecher, and that he drives himself to try to be free of his guilt. Not until faced with a crisis, however, will he leave the persona behind and begin the process of individuation.” The criticism provided helps prove John Proctor fits the role of a tragic hero in The Crucible. In order to convey the message of iniquity in the Puritan society, Arthur Miller casts John Proctor in The Crucible because he is able to overcome his tragic flaw of hubris, but still the circumstances unfortunately led to his death. Proctor is a very respected man in Salem but he also has a few flaws that have proved him to be a tragic hero which are prideful, lustful, and well respected. Later in The Crucible, Proctor realizes his flaws and tries to fix them but it is too late. One of Proctor’s tragic flaws is that he is too prideful.

A Tragedy as a literary Work is described in which there is a hero that is basically moral individual destroyed by some character flaw and by force beyond his or her control. That hero is a tragic hero who experiences an inner struggle because of this flaw. Because of his charter flaw and his struggle to do what is right, John Proctor is a tragic hero.

A Tragic hero is a character who experiences a major downfall as the results of a personal mistake or the workings of fate. There are many tragic heroes in the play The Crucible, But the one that comes to mind is John Proctor for several reasons. It all starts out with the affair with Abigail, when that affair happens John Proctor breaks his wedding vows and violate the moral convictions of the community by engaging in an adultery affair with Abigail. John Proctor is a classic example of a tragic hero in the play, The Crucible for several reasons…

As human beings, we each display specific traits and qualities that define our character and shape our personalities. The way in which we carry ourselves establishes our reputations, as well as how others identify us. We are each prone to making mistakes, and unfortunately, the mistakes we make can affect the way people see us as well. The struggle to regain a good name can be difficult and uncertain once someone’s reputation is tarnished. In Arthur Miller’s timeless play, The Crucible, a well-respected man named John Proctor betrays his wife and struggles to gain her forgiveness and his good name in the village of Salem. Although John Proctor betrays his wife, he

John Proctor has a dark secret, He possesses a major flaw he has had an affair with Abigail Williams, and eventually he realizes what he has done to Elizabeth, He has committed adultery against his wife. Due to the fact that Proctor has committed adultery against Elizabeth, he becomes a tragic hero, and Abigail Williams shows that when she says “I know how you clutched my back behind your house and sweated like a stallion whenever I come near” (Act I, lines 423-425). John broke his marriage vows, but even though he regrets he has become a tragic hero. It’s too late to regret he has sinned, he has ruined his marriage with Elizabeth and now she is not pleased with him. Due to the fact that he has cheated on Elizabeth, his outlook in life is negative, when He tells her “I have not moved from there to there without I think to please you” (Act II, lines 159-161). The affair also caused Elizabeth to distrust John, who for seven months was trying to get into her good graces and is tired of her suspicion. Because of John's inability to control his desire and resist temptation, his life is being turned upside down by the jealousy and need for revenge of Abigail, marking the beginning of his downfall and path to becoming a tragic hero. As a result, the need for revenge of Abigail marks the beginning of John downfall.

Since the times of the ancient Greeks, tragic heroes have been used to enhance the meaning of a play or literary work. Any character cannot be described as tragic hero. Several key characteristics are necessary for the tragic hero to possess in order to be characterized as such. He must be high-ranked or have a high standing in the community. He must have a weakness or a tragic flaw and be involved in a struggle. In the end, that struggle will lead to his downfall. Arthur Miller purposely incorporates these characteristics into John Proctor, one of the main figures in The Crucible. He masterfully portrays Proctor as a tragic hero even though he is a common man.

In the play by Arthur Miller The Crucible, the town of Salem is in pandemonium under the non-existent threat of witchcraft. Every character is either lying to save their lives or to end others, or dying for not admitting to a lie. One character who stands out among the chaotic conflagration is the tragic hero John Proctor. In Greek drama, a tragic hero is defined as “a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy that is destined for downfall, suffering, or defeat.” No character in The Crucible fits this description better than John Proctor. John Proctor is the tragic hero in The Crucible because of his strengths and notable traits,

A tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. In the play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrays John Proctor, the protagonist, as a tragic hero who has a major flaw—lust for Abigail, his teenage house servant. For fear of being exiled in a town where reputation is highly upheld, Proctor initially tries to hide his crime of adultery, but this affair triggers a major series of events in Salem, where unproven accusations lead to internal struggle and eventually to catastrophe.

Despite outspoken personality and qualities as a critical thinker, John Proctor is far from being a perfect human being. In his notes, Arthur Miller describes him as a sinner, "a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct." (P.20) Similar to Jesus who was tempted in the desert and taunted by the pharisees, Proctor's journey is riddled with hardships. He strives to overcome them and to follow his moral compass over the course of the novel. When Abigail Morris seeks him out after being fired, he has the courage to overcome his lust and to end their relationship. He boldly claims: "I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again" (P.22) Moreover, he spends months trying to regain

In Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” Parris carries a very important position as revered of the muddled village, Salem. For years, Parris struggles to earn a good position in the town, especially from the more respected people such as John Proctor and the Putnams. However, due to Parris’ lack of tending to his responsibilities in attempt to win a good reputation, a string of consequences for Salem followed for all. He recurrently swayed between the ‘winning’ side of the drama so he was always in favor. Parris rebuked to be taken accountable for the fact his very own niece was found conjuring spirits in the woods, he was fast to blame people for acts that had little to no evidence, and in the court, he would often give the judges a prejudiced story behind each and every person so they would hypothetically be dead before even getting the chance to protest.

Ancient greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle asserts that “A tragedy is the moment where the hero comes face to face with his true identity.” When meeting the criteria for what defines a tragic hero, their identity, specifically one flaw, is the cause of their eventual downfall. The tragic hero is a popular literary concept prevalent that manifests itself within protagonists in different forms of media, such as video games, television shows, and books. The Crucible, a playwright written by Arthur Miller, has a fair share of tragic heroes entailed within the story. The main protagonist of the story is John Proctor, a pious, honest and, principled man, with a multitude of other noble qualities but due to an irreversible mistake made because of a fatal flaw, he is inevitably led to his death.

In The Crucible the characters all show different kind of growth throughout the story. The story is based of a town called Salem and when the Devil hit Salem all the people started to turn on each other. What started of as a little joke between girls turned into a whole game for them to play. The girls accused anyone they saw or anyone that did them wrong and each and every time those same people were hanged. Although, this play is mostly about the witchcraft the people also changed as time went by and they started to understand what was happening and why it was wrong.

Aristotle's definition of a classic tragic hero is a literary character who is a “great man”and eventual committed an error leading to the character's own destruction. Furthermore, the character’s excessive pride causes a barricade to the character’s reality,which also leads to a path of a potential fatal outcome.John Proctor is a prime example of Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero through his position as a successful farmer;his authoritative demeanor with other members of the community causes a road to his fatal death.“Since we built the church there were pewter candlesticks upon the altar; Francis Nurse made them, y’know, and a sweeter hand never touched the metal. But Parris came, and for twenty week he preach nothin’ but golden candlesticks until he had them. I labor the earth from dawn of day to blink of night, and I tell you true, when I look to heaven and see my money glaring at his elbows— it hurt my prayer, sir, it hurt my prayer….”(Miller 65). In other words, John Proctor describes Reverend Parris as a greedy man, infusing rich and fortune in to the town’s church. Proctor is upset with the newly ornaments added to the building of the church, which Proctor has built himself. Proctor contrasting the attitudes between Paris and himself (Proctor being the innocent) shows Proctor’s excessive pride. Proctor uses idioms such as “from dawn of day” and “to blink of night”, in order to amplify his message and to show his knowledge of the english language. Moving on, Proctor uses the metaphor,”when I look to

The play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller portrays a powerful drama based on the witch trials in Salem of 1692.It all started when the girls was caught dancing in the woods. The girls accused others being seen with the devil cause they was afraid of been punished or even accused of witch craft. John Proctor is one of the main characters.John Proctor is well respected man is considered an magic hero and because of his tragic flaw of adultery leads him to his death.

In the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, John Proctor fits the classic Greek definition of a tragic hero.  Aristotle, one of the great Greek philosophers, teachers and writers, stated that one of the most important aspects of a tragedy was the tragic hero.  He defined a tragic hero as a noble person that goes from a state of fortune and happiness to a state of utter misery.  The character’s tragic flaw causes this change.  Aristotle stated that witnessing the downfall of the character triggered an emotional release, which left the audience feeling relieved because they have empathized with the character, but not upset because the downfall was the character’s